Floods in France: emergency measures underway amid ‘historic’ conditions
Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne and Maine-et-Loire among worst-hit with red warnings in place
Heavy rainfall during Storm Nils is partly responsible for the flooding. Archive photo shows roads closed due to flooding in Le Mans, 2025
t.sableaux/Shutterstock
Severe flood warnings remain in place across western France today (February 17) as persistent rainfall leaves many rivers at risk of breaking their banks.
The Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne remain on a tier-four red alert for flooding along the Garonne river, with the Maine-et-Loire also facing a red alert from the Loire and parts of the Sarthe, Mayenne, and Loir rivers.
Authorities are warning of ‘historic’ floods around Angers, with emergency measures being put in place, including closing off riverbanks to the public.
Today, the city will deliberately flood nearby roads along the Maine river (that flows through the city centre) in a bid to alleviate the strength of the river elsewhere.
In departments facing red alerts, residents should avoid driving on any flooded roads or those susceptible to flooding (bridges or fords through streams, roads adjacent to riverbanks, etc), and stay out of any basement areas in case of being trapped by floodwater.
They should only go outside when necessary, and keep up to date with local weather information.
Flooding from the Garonne and other nearby rivers has led to around 1,600 evacuations in the south-west since Thursday (February 12).
Historic flooding
Outside of these three departments, 11 others are facing heightened tier-three orange warnings over high river levels with many others facing less severe tier-two alerts (three Alpine departments also face heightened avalanche warnings).
Historic warnings came into force largely due to the impact of Storm Nils last week.
The storm brought heavy and persistent rain to the west and south-west, following weeks of steady rainfall in the area that had seen 30% more rain across France than January averages, higher in areas such as Brittany and Corsica.
This exceptional rainfall had already saturated soils, meaning new rain has remained clogging the surface or swelling rivers.
"We've been experiencing flooding for 31 days straight. This is something we've never seen before," said Minister for Ecological Transition Monique Barbut during a visit to the Gironde department.
She confirmed that a state of natural disaster (catastrophe naturelle) would be declared in the affected areas, allowing residents to make insurance claims. However, this would be put on hold until all flooding risks subside.
On Friday (February 13), 174 of the 330 waterways assessed by river watchdog Vigicrues were facing flood warnings, beating records from the historic 2021 flooding.
While river levels receded in parts of the south-west, renewed bouts of Atlantic rainfall are set to keep warnings in place throughout the week.
Social media posts show the extent of recent flooding across France, but particularly from the Garonne river and Loire rivers.
On Sunday (February 15) a 78-year-old woman was found dead in her car near Lamonzie-Montastruc (Dordogne).
Hunters discovered the vehicle – a small voiture sans permis – during a hunt in the area.
The death was not thought to be related to flooding in the area, although it is unknown how the driver came off the road and her vehicle ended up in a nearby stream.
